BASEL, Switzerland,
April 27, 2007– New findings from the
independent Jikei
Heart Study, published today in The
Lancet1, show that adding the blood pressure
lowering medication Diovan® to conventional therapy
produced a dramatic 39% reduction in cardiovascular events and a
40% reduction in stroke.

The superior benefits
reported with Diovan led to an early termination of the study,
which involved more than 3,000 Japanese patients.

In addition to its impac
tional:

Ruth Metzler-Arnold
+41 61 324 7944

Katharina Ambühl
+41 61 324 5316

Nafida Bendali
+41 61 324 3514

Jason Hannon
+41 61 324 2152

Thomas Hungerbuehler
+41 61 324 8425

Richard Jarvis
+41 61 324 4353

North America:

Ronen Tamir
+1 212 830 2433

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Jill Pozarek
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Edwin Valeriano
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e-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com

t on
overall cardiovascular events and stroke, Diovan demonstrated
relative reductions of 65% in angina pectoris (recurring acute
chest pain), 47% in heart failure and 81% in aortic dissection
(separation of the wall layers in the body’s main artery)
compared to other treatment groups1. According to the
investigators, these benefits cannot be explained by a difference
in blood pressure alone. There were few adverse events (2.5%
overall) with no significant difference in tolerability between the
groups.

“The results of this
trial carry an important clinical message for physicians across the
globe who are trying to protect patients from debilitating
complications such as stroke,” said Gordon McInnes, MD, Professor of
Medicine at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Jikei Heart tells us that adding Diovan to usual treatment
regimens can offer substantial long-term
protection.”

The Jikei Heart Study is the first
controlled trial to assess the cardiovascular benefits of adding
the angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) Diovan to conventional
non-ARB therapy, compared to non-ARB therapy alone, in a large
Japanese population. Key events evaluated as part of the primary
endpoint included heart attack, stroke and hospitalization for
heart failure or angina pectoris.

The study was conceived,
designed, and conducted by an investigat
or-led steering committee,
representing the Jikei Executive Committee and the hospitals
involved with the trial. The study was funded by the Jikei
University School of Medicine in Tokyo with an unrestricted grant
from Novartis. Novartis had no role in study design, data
collection, data analysis, data interpretation or writing of the
report.

The Jikei Heart
Study1 was a multi-center controlled clinical trial with
a prospective randomized open-label blinded endpoint (PROBE)
design. It was conducted by the Jikei University School of Medicine
in Tokyo in 3,081 people aged 20 to 79 years with high blood
pressure, ischemic heart disease or congestive heart failure. There
were no significant differences in blood pressure or heart rate
between the treatment groups.

The foregoing release contains forward-looking
statements that can be identified by terminology such as “can
offer” or similar expressions, or by express or implied
disc
ussions regarding potential new indications or labelling for
Diovan or Co-Diovan, or regarding potential future sales of these
products. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results with Diovan or Co-Diovan to be materially different from
any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that
Diovan or Co-Diovan will be approved for any additional indications
or labelling in any other market. Nor can there be any guarantee
regarding potential future sales of Diovan or Co-Diovan. In
particular, management's expectations regarding these products
could be affected by, among other things, competition in general;
industry, government, and general public pricing pressures;
unexpected clinical trial results, including additional analysis
of existing clinical
data, and new clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions or
delays or government regulation generally; the company's ability to
obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual
property protection; and other risks and factors referred to in
Novartis AG’s current Form 20-F on file with the US
Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these
risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially
from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis
is providing the information in this press release as of this date
and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release as a result of new
information, future events, or otherwise.

About
Novartis

Novartis AG
(NYSE: NVS) is a world leader in offering medicines to protect
health, cure disease and improve well-being. Our goal is to
discover, develop and successfully market innovative products to
treat patients, ease suffering and enhance the quality of life. We
are strengthening our medicine-based portfolio, which is focused on
strategic growth platforms in innovation-driven pharmaceuticals,
high-quality and low-cost generics, human vaccines and leading
self-medication OTC brands. Novartis is the only company with
leadership positions in these areas. In 2006, the Group’s
businesses achieved net sales of USD 37.0 billion and net income of
USD 7.2 billion. Approximately USD 5.4 billion was invested in
R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group
companies employ approximately 100,000 associates and operate in
over 140 countries around the world. For more information, please
visit http://www.novartis.com.

References

1.MochizukiS et al. Valsartan
in a Japanese population with hypertension and other cardiovascular
disease (Jikei Heart Study): a randomised, open-label, blinded
endpoint morbidity-mortality study.The Lancet2007;369:1431-1439.

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